The new restaurant served good food. The three ate their fill, chatting as they headed toward the meeting point.
Halfway there, Jiang Shaoxu suddenly needed the bathroom. "I'm going to the restroom. You two go ahead. Don't wait for me."
"Okay. Just don't be long."
Zhou Sining and Mu Nujiao nodded. Once they saw her enter the restroom, they turned and continued on their way.
The town was small. Before long, they reached Seaside Park.
Members of the Chinese, Japanese, and Indian teams had already begun arriving.
Three minutes after the appointed meeting time, Nan Jue made one final head count. She quickly discovered that Jiang Shaoxu was the only one who had not returned.
She called her repeatedly through the Communication Device but got no answer. So she went to find Zhou Sining and Mu Nujiao, who had eaten with Jiang Shaoxu earlier.
"Jiang Shaoxu still hasn't come back. Weren't you together?"
Zhou Sining looked puzzled. "She said she was going to the bathroom. She's not back yet?"
Nan Jue shook her head. "No. It's been three minutes. Both the Japanese and Indian teams are assembled, and she's the only one missing. I can't reach her through her Communication Device, either."
An urgent matter might explain why she had not returned. Being unreachable was another story.
The Communication Devices their team used were military issue. They had only one function—communication—and were extremely easy to carry.
They worked even out in the wild, where Demon Beasts roamed, let alone in this town.
Zhou Sining and Mu Nujiao exchanged glances. Their hearts sank as a terrible premonition took hold.
"Mu Nujiao and I will look for her. You go ahead and send me the address. We'll catch up once we find her."
"All right."
Realizing something was wrong, Zhou Sining and